Archive By Section - Local News

The Barton Community College Board of Trustees will review property, casualty, workers compensation and other insurance proposals at the next board study session, set for 4 p.m. Tuesday, May 9, in room F-30, on the lower level of the Fine Arts Building. The board will also review the monthly financial statement; contracts for head coach, management staff and administrative positions; and upcoming graduation events.

A civil lawsuit filed March 1 claims that while Barton County administrator, Richard Boeckman harassed Robin Rziha, a nurse and Pawnee County health administrator. Rziha filed the suit in Barton County District Court seeking $75,000 in damages and a jury trial.

The sponsor of the Ellinwood Chamber of Commerce coffee Friday morning was Central National Bank, with two locations in Great Bend. Chad Steffan, business lender and manager of the Main Street location, said since the bank expanded to Great Bend three years ago, business has been brisk, providing commercial, residential and agricultural loans, as well as providing banking services at the in-store bank at Walmart. As a regional bank, they can write loans ranging from a couple thousand dollars up to $15 million, he said. The bank has been owned by the same family for four generations. That family came ...

Members of the Hoisington Chamber of Commerce met for coffee Thursday morning at the new Sonic restaurant on S. Main St. As always, news was in abundant supply. Owner Ravi Vallal thanked the community for their support, and said business is going well. He hopes soon customers will catch on that they have a dining room, but, he noted, his stalls are always full.

The Great Bend High School El Sol Folk Dance Club will perform a dance in recognition of Cinco de Mayo at the next school board meeting. The Great Bend USD 428 Board of Education will meet at 5 p.m. Monday, May 8, at the District Education Center, 201 South Patton Road.

WASHINGTON - Rep. Roger Marshall is pleased with Thursday's passage of the Republican health care bill by the House. He visited with Kansas media during a press conference in the afternoon, expressing confidence the bill will go on to pass in the Senate.

At the start of its third season, the apple orchard at the Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo is beginning to fill out, but efforts to keep it weed-free haven't exactly succeeded. Landscape fabric and mulch, it turns out, weren't enough to keep bindweed and the creeping lawn at bay. That's why Cottonwood Extension ag agent Alicia Boor requested help from Great Bend High School students during their Community Service Day to help remove the old and try something new.

For the third year, community members are invited to join elementary students this fall in a shared reading experience. "The Lemonade War" by Jacqueline Davies is the selection for Great Bend's 2017-2018 "One District One Book" literacy program.

The Barton County Commission will meet at 9 a.m. Monday at the Barton County Courthouse, 1400 Main in Great Bend. The agenda includes a National Bike Month proclamation, early childhood intervention funding and a structural analysis of the Susank radio tower.

Each week we'll take a step back into the history of Great Bend through the eyes of reporters past. We'll reacquaint you with what went into creating the Great Bend of today, and do our best to update you on what "the rest of the story" turned out to be.

For the past decade, the Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo and Larned Correctional Mental Health Facility offered the Birds Befriended Program. It allowed inmates with good behavior to care for exotic birds such as parrots and cockatoos that were former pets needing new homes.